Culture of New Zealand

The country's earliest inhabitants brought with them customs and language from Polynesia, and during the centuries of isolation, developed their own Māori and Moriori cultures.

Ministry for Culture and Heritage showed 'that the arts and creative sector contributed $14.9 billion to New Zealand's GDP for the year ending March 2022', this is 4.2% of the total economy and is the highest since 2000 when recording began.

Māori established separate tribes, built fortified villages (pā), hunted and fished, traded commodities, developed agriculture, arts and weaponry, and kept a detailed oral history.

Oral history tells of a long voyage from Hawaiki (the mythical homeland in tropical Polynesia) in large ocean-going canoes (waka).

[21] The distinct values, history, and worldview of Māori are expressed through traditional arts and skills such as haka, tā moko, waiata (music), carving, weaving, and poi.

From the mid-20th century on, waves of immigrants have entered the country from different ethnic backgrounds, notable Dutch and central Europeans during the 1950s, Pacific Islanders since the 1960s, and northern Chinese, Indians, and southeast Asians since the 1980s.

Two of the major ones are Polyfest, which showcases performances of the secondary school cultural groups in the Auckland region,[26] and Pasifika, a festival that celebrates Pacific island heritage through traditional food, music, dance, and entertainment.

Pacific island heritage is also celebrated in much of New Zealand's fine art, with notable artists such as Fatu Feu'u, Lily Laita, John Pule, Yuki Kihara, and Michel Tuffery.

[30] Beginning in about 2015, the language underwent a revival as it became increasingly popular, as a common national heritage and shared cultural identity, even among New Zealanders without Māori roots.

It uses more lip-patterns in conjunction with hand and facial movement to cue signs than BSL, reflecting New Zealand's history of oralist education of deaf people.

As recorded in the 2013 census, Samoan is the most widely spoken non-official language (2.2%), followed by Hindi (1.7%), "Northern Chinese" (including Mandarin, 1.3%) and French (1.2%).

[59] The country's diverse scenery and compact size, plus government incentives,[60] have encouraged some producers to shoot big-budget productions in New Zealand, including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, Avatar, The Chronicles of Narnia, King Kong, Wolverine and The Last Samurai.

Reggae is also popular within some communities, with bands such as Herbs, Katchafire, 1814, House Of Shem, Unity Pacific all reflecting their roots, perspectives and cultural pride and heritage through their music.

A number of popular artists have gone on to achieve international success including Lorde,[65] Split Enz, Crowded House, OMC, Bic Runga, Kimbra, Ladyhawke, The Naked and Famous, Fat Freddy's Drop, Savage, Alien Weaponry, Flight of the Conchords, and Brooke Fraser.

The most well-known include Douglas Lilburn,[68] John Psathas,[69] Jack Body,[70] Gillian Whitehead,[71] Jenny McLeod,[72] Gareth Farr,[73] Ross Harris,[74] and Martin Lodge.

[77] From the 1990s onwards the Naked Samoans expressed humour relating to their experiences as Pasifika in New Zealand, who started out doing theatre and have created been part of films including Sione's Wedding.

The Topp Twins are an off-beat comic/country music duo,[79] and Flight of the Conchords have gained a cult following throughout the English-speaking world for their self-effacing show.

[82] A distinct New Zealand English literary culture only emerged in the early 20th century, initially with works inspired by Māori traditions and legends.

[87][88] New Zealand fiction has grown exponentially since the mid-1970s, with notable contemporary novelists including Elizabeth Knox, Lloyd Jones and Eleanor Catton.

Stead emerged in the 1950s with a focus on New Zealand national identity,[81] and were followed in later decades by poets influenced by American culture and more interested in personal relationships such as Bill Manhire, Sam Hunt and Elizabeth Smither.

[91] Modern New Zealand poetry is diverse in scope and themes, and notable contemporary poets include Tusiata Avia, Selina Tusitala Marsh and Hinemoana Baker.

The country is known for its extreme sports, adventure tourism and strong mountaineering tradition, as seen in the success of notable New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary.

The length of the visit can range from a few months to the remainder of the visitor's life; since many New Zealanders have British ancestry or dual citizenship (sometimes as a result of their parents' OE), the restrictions on working in Britain do not apply to a substantial percentage of them.

Such agreements are in place with: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and Uruguay.

[109] The stereotyped New Zealand male is essentially a pioneer type: he is perceived to be rural, strong, unemotional, democratic, has little time for high culture, good with animals (particularly horses) and machines, and is able to turn his hand to nearly anything.

This type of man is often presumed to be a unique product of New Zealand's colonial period but he shares many similarities with the stereotypical American frontiersman and Australian bushman.

[119] Turnout for parliamentary general elections is typically above 80%, which is very high by international standards and occurs despite the absence of any law requiring citizens to vote.

According to psychologists, this is rooted respectively in the 'frontier' image of the European settler culture, but also mirrored amongst the Māori, for whom land holds a lot of spiritual value in addition to its commercial use.

Food was cooked in hāngī (earth ovens) and roasted, and in geothermal areas was boiled or steamed using natural hot springs and pools.

Many traditional food sources became scarce as introduced predators dramatically reduced bird populations, and forests were cleared for farming and timber.